


Hanukkah!

by orphan_account



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hanukkah, Light Angst, M/M, anti semitism, p sure it was real back then
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-14 03:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12998868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: David Jacobs celebrates Hanukkah.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> Uh hello! First off, I’m not Jewish so sorry for any mistakes I make.  
> Uh might make this multi chapters for each day of Hanukkah?  
> Idk I ha a dream about this and I was pressured by myself to make it real.

David Jacobs was Jewish. And he was proud to be. He loved everything that came with it! The food, the religion, the holidays. Especially Hanukkah. Ever since he was young, David had always loved Hanukkah. He loved lighting the candles with his parents and his sister, Sarah. He loved the food and playing dreidel with the other Jewish children.

  
When Les was born he was excited to teach him everything about the holiday. And Les was just as excited to learn.  
Of course, there came some cons with being Jewish.

  
“Never let them know,” David’s father had told him. “It’s the only way we can protect ourselves.”

  
And David followed what he was told and never let on that he was Jewish. And he was good at keeping quiet about it.  
Then he met Jack Kelly.

  
God he hated that boy. He was so cocky, so self-centered. He was always causing trouble for David.

  
Then he got to know him a bit more. And gradually David warmed up to Jack and they became more comfortable with each other.

  
David grew accustomed to Jack’s hand on his shoulder or Jack pulling him into an excited hug.  
He never thought much of it.

  
Now, it was December. The first snow in New York had started and Hanukkah was to start later that evening. David had contained his excitement well.

  
“What’re ya doin’ for Christmas, Davey?” Jack asked him when they were out selling papers.

  
“My family doesn’t celebrate Christmas.” David answered absentmindedly, shouting out today’s headline soon after.

  
Jack looked at David. “Whaddya mean?”

  
David, realizing what he had said, looked at Jack with panic in his eyes. “I uh.. never mind! Forget I even said anything.” He looked off into the distance where Les was running over, holding up two dimes. David smiled fondly.

  
Jack though, didn’t want to forget. He was curious. He wanted to know more. “If you don’t celebrate Christmas, then what do you celebrate?” He asked when Les was finally over. The child was naive and was sure to answer Jack’s question despite David’s protests.

  
Les looked at Jack, then at David. David shook his head and Les nodded. “We just celebrate other stuff.” Les answered.  
Jack frowned, frustrated. So Les was in on it too, huh?

  
“Whatever ya say kid.” He went on selling papers.

 

* * *

 

When they had finished. Jack sat next to David. “Hey so uh.. y’know how I don’t exactly got nowhere to go and it’s snowing and it’s tougher during the snow so.. could I stay at your place for a bit?” He asked.

  
On one hand, maybe he could find out what David was hiding this way. On the other hand, he would probably die from hypothermia if he slept on the streets during this weather.

  
David looked at Jack and frowned slightly. “Uh.. yeah, sure. I’m sure my folks won’t mind.”  
Jack smiled.

 

* * *

 

  
“Our house is a bit of a mess at the moment, it’s been busy-“

  
“Busy preparing for ya non-existent holiday?”

  
David rolled his eyes and pushed the door open.

  
Sarah was setting up the menorah by the window. Mrs. Jacobs was cooking treats for that night. Mr. Jacobs was searching for candles.

  
“Hello, boys-“ Mrs. Jacobs paused when she saw Jack. Mr. Jacobs looked over and quickly went to hide the menorah. Sarah was way ahead of him.

  
“David. I.. we didn’t know you were bringing Jack.” Mr. Jacobs said.

  
“I was going to tell you, but we got tied up.” David said back. Jack stood in silence.

  
“Why don’t you boys clean up. Dinner will be ready soon.” Mr. Jacobs continued.  
David and Jack nodded and went to David’s room. Les was sent to his own room to change.

 

* * *

 

  
David shut the door behind him. Jack looked around the familiar setting as if he was standing in it for the first time. They stood in silence until Jack broke it.

  
“So you’re-“

  
“Jewish.”

  
“And you celebrate-“

  
“Hanukkah. Yeah, we do.”

  
“.. why didn’t you tell me?” Jack asked, sounding almost betrayed.

  
David took a while to answer, fidgeting nervously with his hands.

  
“My father told us never to tell anyone. He told us it was safer that way.”

  
“Safer? Why’s it safer like that?”

  
David.. Didn’t really know how to answer. His father never gave him a reason as to why to hide his religion, other than that it was safer this way.

  
But he also knew why. He’s seen how people would turn away his parents because they were Jewish. He noticed the scornful glares from complete strangers when his family walked around the city. He ignored all of that the best he could and in time he forgot all about it, but he was still scared. He was scared that something would happen. He wasn’t sure what, but something.

  
“It just is. Ok Jack? Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it was safer that way.” David wasn’t looking at Jack, but he could just picture the expression he had on his face.

  
He pictured something between confusion and hurt with a little bit of anger in it. What Jack was angry at, David didn't know. He didn’t want to know.

  
“Davey-“

  
“You can leave if you want to. I don’t mind.” David interrupted.

  
“Davey, I ain’t leaving.” Jack said, moving closer to David. At some point they had sat down on David’s bed, Jack didn’t know when they did. He didn’t care much.

  
David looked at Jack. He was close to him now. Really close. Their fingers were lingering near each other, both longing to just touch even the slightest bit. Jack’s eyes flicked down to David’s lips then back to his eyes. David noticed this, it made his heart quicken.

  
“Jack-“

There was a knock on the door. The two boys jumped and the distance between them grew and they scooter away from each other. Jack took precautions and moved down to the floor.

  
David’s father walked in. “Your mother finished dinner. Jack will you be joining us?” He looked at the boy.

  
“If ya don’t mind, Mr. Jacobs.” Jack smiled. Mr. Jacobs smiled back, “you're always welcome here, Jack.” With that he left the room.

  
Jack looked back up at David, who had been silent ever since his father came in. 

“Davey?-“

  
“Come on. Mom makes extra good food for Hanukkah.” David said and stood, walking out the door, leaving Jack alone in his bedroom.           


	2. Night 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreidels and talks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finals are next week and im so stressed so sorry if chapters are delayed

They had dinner that night. When Jack left David’s room, he noticed that the menorah from earlier had been set up. There were two candles lit in it, one in the middle and another one on the far right of the menorah. Jack looked at the menorah for a while, wondering about it. He heard about these things before and he never knew how they worked. He just wanted to wonder for a little while. 

David was right, the food Mrs. Jacobs made for the holiday was delicious. Jack helped himself to plenty. David was silent for most of the dinner, but Sarah kept Jack busy by talking to him for most of the time.

Once they had all finished eating, Les dragged Jack and his siblings over to the living room and sat them down. He went back to the kitchen to grab a tin can and what seemed like a spinning top. Jack later learned it was called a dreidel. Les placed the can in the center of everyone. There were pennies and nickels inside of it. 

“Now that Jack’s here, this will be way more fun!” Les said in excitement. 

“First you gotta explain to me what we’re doing, kid.” Jack chuckled, spinning the dreidel. 

Les proceeded to explain the rules of the game, “we all take turns spinning the dreidel. If you get this,” he pointed to nun. “Then you take nothing from the can. If you land on this,” he pointed to gimel. “Then you get everything in the can! Sarah always gets on this the first time, but now that you’re here maybe it’ll be different!” Sarah smiled smugly and David laughed. 

“There’s more! If you land on this one,” Les pointed to hei. “Then you only take half of the pot. And if you land here,” he pointed to shin. “Then you have to put a piece in the pot.” Les smiled as he finished explaining and David took some money from the can and passed around equally. He passed out ten pennies and five nickels to everyone. 

“At the beginning we all to put one piece in the can and after every turn you put another one in the can.” Les added on. They all put one piece into the can. 

“Jack, since you’re new you can go first.” Sarah said. 

Jack, who already had the dreidel, spun it. It landed on shin. The three Jacobs expressed their content with this. 

“You have to put a piece in the can.” David said to Jack, smiling. 

“Damn..” Jack muttered and took one of his pennies, dropping it into the can.

“Sarah’s turn!” Les said and Jack passed the dreidel to Sarah. 

“Please don’t get gimel, please don’t get gimel.” David prayed under his breath, much to Sarah’s amusement.

She spun the top and landed on nun. “Huh..” she said, her amusement now gone.

“That’s a first.” Les said, taking the dreidel and giving it a spin. He landed on hei. Les laughed and scooped out what he estimated to be half of the can. “Your turn, David!” He passed the dreidel to his brother. 

David spun the top and landed on gimel. The two siblings and Jack groaned. David smiled and took the rest of the can. He turned to Jack, still smiling.

“That’s how you play dreidel.”

 

* * *

They got a makeshift bed ready for Jack on David’s bedroom floor. Jack and David said their goodnights and got into bed, leaving only the moon to be their light. 

They talked in hushed voices, looking up and down at each other. 

“So what do ya do with the money?” Jack asked. 

“We usually keep it. Whoever lands on gimel, gets to spend some of it though. Since it’s usually Sarah who wins, she buys us food and other things we need.” David explained.

“What’re you gonna spend yours on?”

David shrugged, “Probably food. Les was looking at this toy earlier yesterday while selling though. I might get it for him.” He said.

Jack smiled. “That’s nice of ya.”

“He’s my brother, I have to be nice to him.” He laughed quietly and Jack joined in.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that. David turned to look up at the ceiling. Jack just kept looking at David. 

When he met him, the first thing he noticed was how good looking David was. His hair looked soft under the hat he wore when selling, and his face was just.. God, it was perfect. Jack was in deep, and he knew that. If he could only do something about it. Maybe it would be better. 

“Jack?” The boy’s thoughts were interrupted by David’s voice. “Jack. You’re not gonna tell the fellas, right?” David sounded scared. Jack couldn’t remember the last time he’s seen David scared.

“Tell them what?” Jack asked. 

“Y’know.. About.. About this. This entire thing. The menorah, the dreidels, everything.” David had sat up in his bed now. His hands were clenching the thin blanket that laid in his lap and covered his legs. 

“Dave, I ain’t gonna tell them-”

“Promise you won’t! I-I can’t.. My family, I can’t have that happen to them.” David said. He looked exhausted. Jack didn’t realize how much this could weigh on David.. Or any of the Jacobs for that matter.

“I promise, Davey.” Jack said. He meant it, he really did. He would never, ever do anything to hurt David or his family.

And David knew that, and he felt relieved hearing those words come from his friend. “Ok.. thank you. Good night, Jack.” He said and laid down on his bed, facing away from Jack.

“Goodnight.” Jack faced away from David as well. He fell asleep wondering about what David’s world is like.. and wondering what tomorrow’s headline would be. 


	3. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A snowy day and night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeeey..  
> so uh  
> sorry for such a delay in getting these out  
> i initially meant to have a chapter out for each day of Hanukkah but i got caught up w some personal stuff & also studying for finals  
> after tomorrow tho i have two weeks off of school so i'll try to finish this up quickly!  
> thank you for understanding and enjoy this short lil chapter (sorry)  
> -v.

The boys left early the nest early. The two candles on the menorah had gone out sometime last night. It was snowing out. 

“The boys are probably in the lodging house. Wanna go there?” Jack asked David and Les. They both agreed and off they went. 

Most of the boys were indoors when the three arrived at the lodging house. Others, mainly the younger ones, were outside playing in the snow. Inside, Romeo was tying Crutchie’s shoe for him. Race was playing a card game with a few of the littluns. 

They had made a makeshift Christmas tree out of some sticks that still had leaves on them. A paper star was placed on top of it. 

“Who knew ya bums had some artistic talent in ya.” Jack teased when he saw the tree.

“Ah, shut yer mouth Kelly.” Race called out from his game. 

“Why aren’t you guys out selling?” Les asked.

“Don’t cha’ see the snow? We’d freeze out there kid.” Specs called from his bed. 

“Besides, we’ll go out sellin’ later anyways.” Crutchie added. 

“Don’t worry kid. You can go sellin’ soon.” Jack ruffled Les’ hair, “Why don’t ya’ just relax for once? Take a day off- for a bit.” He walked over to where Romeo and Crutchie where sat and plopped down next to Crutchie. 

Les looked up at David and David shrugged. The kid went over to play cards with Race and the littluns. 

 

* * *

 

The snow stopped falling sometime near the afternoon and the boys were sent to go selling. David, Les and Jack went down their usual route. Jack would shout out some absurd headline while David tried to stay close to the real one. Les would run up to any lady crossing by and act as pathetic and helpless as he could. They sold until it started to get dark.

“You got anywhere to sleep Jack?” Les asked, clutching onto David’s hand as the trio walked back home. 

“I might stay in the lodging house tonight if it’s not too crowded.” Jack answered walking next to David. 

“Why don’t you stay with us? Mom won’t mind.” Les said with such childlike enthusiasm. David looked at Jack and waited eagerly for an answer. He liked it when Jack stayed for the night with them, they always had such good times when he did. 

“Nah.. I don’t wanna intrude on your guy’s holiday. I’ll stay in the lodging house tonight.”

Les quit his pestering. David, slightly disappointed, said, “well.. You’re always welcome in our home.”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “I know.” 

 

* * *

 

They dropped Jack off at the lodging house, said goodnight to the other boys, and started back home. 

“You think Jack cares if we celebrate Hanukkah?” Les asked once they started walking again.

“Keep your voice down will ya’?” David looked around then back at his brother. “No, I’m sure he doesn’t.”

Les smiled. “That’s good because I like Jack. Do you like him?”

“He’s a good friend.” David said and Les laughed, clutching tighter onto his older brother’s hand.

“It sounds funny when you say it like that. Just say you like him!” 

David rolled his eyes and smiled down at Les. “Yes. I like Jack.” 

“There ya’ go!” Les said with a hint of pride. “See? That was easy.” 

“Shut up.” David chuckled. 

The two made it home and walked inside, getting away quickly from the snow that had resumed to fall from the sky. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall should comment suggestions for what will happen in the next chaps bc im have no creativity

**Author's Note:**

> Can you believe David got cockblocked by his own dad?  
> leave kudos, comments & suggestions!


End file.
